


Life is a Trackway

by meggie_megs



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Olympics, Cars, Cars AU, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Movie: Cars
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-02 14:57:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16789219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggie_megs/pseuds/meggie_megs
Summary: Dan is competing to become an Olympian but what will happen when he get stuck in an small town right before his trial race.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the fic based off of Cars that like two people asked for. I have an idea of how I want this to work but I'd love suggestions. If you like this please let me know so I can post more!

Dan Howell was pretty new to the racing scene. Sure he had won he a dozen or so foot races at home, but he never thought in a million years he would be qualifying for the Olympics to compete for Great Brittan. His event was the 10000M race and he was good at it. His coach PJ timed him at 25 minutes and 15 seconds, which was almost 2 minutes better than the reigning gold Olympian, but being a new comer, the British Olympic Association was making him do trial races against current champion Mohamed Farah as well as Andrew Vernon who also ran for Great Britain in Rio. 

The race was pretty straightforward; Dan had to beat at least one of the other contenders by a minimum 30 seconds before the BOA would consider allowing him to compete. The race was taking place in London since Olympic quality facilities were abundant. Unfortunately, this meant Dan and PJ had to drive down from Manchester to take part. This wouldn’t have been a problem but at the end of the race the three runners had all come within 30 seconds of each other prompting the BOA to schedule another trail race two weeks from now. This meant Dan and PJ would be going back to Manchester and returning to London in two weeks since neither could afford to stay in a London hotel for an additional two weeks. 

Dan was pissed to say the least. He had technically won that race, beating the other two by 15 and 25 seconds respectively, but the BOA was convinced it was a fluke and he had to race again. He spent most of the drive brooding in the passenger seat while PJ drove back home. It was nearly 1am and they were about an hour outside of Manchester when a loud bang came from the back and the car slowed down to a crawl.

“What the fuck happened?” Dan shouted at PJ being drawn out of his brooding mood by the loud noise. 

“Shit, I’m not sure. I knew I should have gotten my car serviced before we left.” PJ groaned

“You knew something was wrong and you didn’t get your car serviced?” Dan screamed.

“Kind of. It’s been making weird clicking noises for like three months but I figured it would be fine.” PJ explained. “I’ll just call a town truck and we’ll get a lift back into the city. It’ll be fine.”

“It better be, I am not in the mood for this.” Dan grumbled, stepping out of the car to get some fresh air.

Twenty minutes later PJ came out to join him.

“So good news is that I have a tow truck coming, bad news is it’s not going to be here for another 5 hours and no taxi company is willing to come out here to pick us up.” PJ explained sheepishly. “So we might as well get in the car and sleep for a bit unit the truck can come.”

“You got to be fucking kidding me.” Dan groaned. “You know what, you go to sleep, I’m going for a run, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Dan wait…” PJ started, but Dan was already off, leaving his phone and wallet on the car seat.” 

Dan had been running for about 30 minutes. He was feeling a bit better, running always cleared his mind, but he was starting to get tired. Suddenly he felt a pain in his toe from hitting it on a rock, and next thing he knew he was falling face first towards a fence post. “Well fuck.” Dan thought as is face smashed into the big rock and his world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Chapter 2 of the fic very few people asked for and no one really wanted. Theres a whole lot of dialogue in this chapter, much more than I'm used to writing but i guess that is what you get for adapting a fic off a movie.

“Ughhhh” Dan groaned opening his eyes. It was so bright he must have forgotten to close the blinds before he went to bed last night. His head was also pounding; He must not have drunk enough water yesterday. He shifted in his bed, or at least the bed he was lying on, because he soon realized this was not his bed back in Manchester. He actually had no clue where he was.

“Mornin’! An overly chirpy voice yelled.

“Ugghhh” Dan groaned again rolling towards the voice. “Where am I? Who are you? What happened?”

“Well look-y here that is one nice goose egg ye got there.” The brown haired boy chirped. “My name’s Chris and it’s seems you’ve fallen on Spring Springs!” 

“Spring Springs? Where the hell is that?” Dan asked as he went to fix his fringe, wincing, as his fingers grazed the massive goose egg on his forehead.

“Well were just a little south of Manchester, but literally no one has heard of our little town here because who the hell names a town Spring Springs when there ain’t no springs in sight!”

“Chris!” A man boomed coming through the door. “You were supposed to get me when he woke up!”

“Sorry Sir! I was just being friendly.”

“What else is new? Anyways, My name’s Michael, I’m the sheriff of this little town, and that there, is Chris, my nephew and local troublemaker. And what’s your name?”

“Uh, Dan, Dan Howell. How the hell did I get here?” 

“Found you passed out on top of old man Lester’s fence at like 3am when I was out doing my rounds, looking for this delinquent” Michael Says giving Chris a playful shove.

Suddenly the door to the next room was slammed open.

“MICHAEL!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY FENCE LAST NIGHT?” a gruff man yelled from the next room.

“Speak of the devil.” Michael rolled his eyes turning to face the man in the next room. “Now now, Hudson I’m sure it’s nothing to be that upset about. All I know is this boy here was passed out on your fence last night.” He explained gesturing towards Dan.

“YOU!” Hudson yelled staring down Dan, slowly walking towards him, finger pointed. “YOU THINK YOUR SOME FANCY CITY SLICKER WHO CAN JUST WALTZ INTO OUR TOWN DRUNK OFF HIS MIND AND DISTROY WHAT EVER THE HELL HE WANTS? WELL THEN YOU ARE OUT OF YOU DAMNNED MIND! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS!”

“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to I tripped and-“

“YOU APOLOGIZES MEAN NOTHING TO ME, JUST FIX MY DAMMNED FENCE.”

“Yes-s s-sir” Dan stammered.

Hudson turned on his heel and stormed out of the building slamming the door behind him. Chris who was now stood in the corner let out a slow whistle. 

After Dan explained to Chris and Michael all he remembered of the night before, Michael agreed to not lay any charges, but agreed Dan should rebuild the fence if nothing else to get Old man Lester off his back.

“Chris will take you down to the Lester property, think you should call your folks to let them know you’ll be busy today?” 

“Oh shit Peej!” Dan cried out patting down his empty pockets. “Fuck I must have left my phone in the car last night. Can I borrow a phone?” 

Michael pulled out an old rotary phone from behind the desk he was leaning on mumbling something about cellphones not working inside. Dan put in a number he remembered, hoping it was PJ’s, but really who knows anyone’s number anymore? You just click on the contact. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey Peej”

“DANIEL JAMES HOWELL! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I HAVE BEEN! I SENT TO TOW TRUCK HOME BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE UNTIL YOU CAME BACK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?” 

“Sorry Peej. Really, I am so sorry. But you see I got in a bit of trouble and I have to fix this fence in Spring Springs then I can come home. Why don’t you call another tow truck and then get a rental or something and come back for me.”

“Uh okay… How will I find you?” 

“Oh yeah. Umm just go to the sheriff’s office. He’ll know where I am.” Dan said looking at Michael giving him thumbs up. “see you late Peej.” Said Dan hanging up the phone. 

“Well, guess we better head to the Lester property.” Said Chris

“Um, yeah lets get this over with.” Said Dan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you didn't figure it out,
> 
> Dan --> Lighting McQueen  
> PJ --> Mack   
> Chris --> Mater  
> Michael --> Sheriff  
> Hudson/ Old man Lester --> Doc Hudson  
> and in the next chapter..   
> Phil --> Sally


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't get used to daily updates if you're actually following this

“So my car is on the other side of town near the diner so why don’t we stop and get something to eat then well head out?” Chris suggested shrugging on a sweater.

“uh sure, but I don’t have my wallet of anything.” Dan said patting down his clearly empty pockets.

“No problem buddy, I got chu.”

“uh yeah, thanks.” Dan said shoving his hand in his very empty pockets and headed toward the diner.

On the way to the diner they passed a shop called “Super Bros”. Outside the shop were two men, one with red hair and one with green arguing about how the large vintage game standees should be arranged outside of the store. 

“Morning Mark! Morning Sean!” Chris called out to the two men.

The red headed one gave a half ass wave and groaned before returning to the argument that the Bubble Bobble standees shouldn’t go before the Pac Man standees. 

Soon enough they were walking up to a building that had the oddly classic small town diner feel about it. The sign over the door read “Burger Time”. Chris jumped up on a stool at the bar up front and Dan awkwardly slid onto the stool next to him.

“Morning darlin’ what can I get you and your new friend this morning?” a cheerful waitress said coming over with two mugs of steaming coffee.

“Mornin’ Louise! Just some good ol’ greasy eggs and bacon for me and my new bud here and maybe a little extra for him if it’s not too much trouble, he’s gotta repair old man Lester’s fence today.”

“Ah yeah, Phil came in here earlier in a foul mood looking for coffee since he had to wait for y’all to come before he could go to sleep. You know how much that boy likes his order and rest. Anyways I’ll be right back with your food.” Louise said with a wave as she went behind the double doors to what was presumably the kitchen.

“Chris? Who’s Phil? I though I had to fix Hudson Lester’s fence. And why can’t this Phil guy go to sleep until we get there?” Dan asked utterly confused.

“Whoa slow down bud. Too many questions.” Chris turned to take his plate of eggs and bacon from Louise. “Thanks Lou. Well you see Phil is Hudson’s nephew and they run the Inn down the road together. Hudson works there during the day and Phil at night. That way someone is always at home or at the Inn. Phil probably goes straight to bed after coming off a night shift but he probably has to wait up so show you where the stuff to fix the fence is.”

“mmm. Makes sense.” Dan said poking at his eggs and bacon. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate something with so much grease. PJ and his family tend to keep him on a strict diet. He was an athlete after all and if it didn’t have kale somewhere in the ingredients, he didn’t eat it. He remembers trying to reason with his father once that Usain Bolt eats 100 chicken nuggets before he races but that ended with extra kale for the next month. 

“Not hungry?” Christ asked snapping Dan out of his thoughts.

“Oh no, I guess not. Sorry” Dan said sheepishly looking at the lump of egg he had been pushing back and forth on his plate for the last half an hour. 

“nah, that’s alright. Lets just head up to the Lester property.” Chris said slapping some money down on the counter and giving a little wave to Louise as he got up to leave. 

Once outside the diner Dan froze waiting for Chris to take him to his car. The on vehicle he could see was a rusty brown tow truck. 

“You’d be right if yer were thinking that my truck. She’s a great old machine. Tow rope’s busted and only really for show but she gets me where I need to go.” Chris said affectionately patting what Dan would describe as a Rust bucket. 

It was a 10-minute dive out of town to get to the Lester property. It wasn’t too big but Dan could see a few animals tied up likely due to the broken fence. As Chris pulled into the drive Dan was taken aback by the tall pale stranger with jet black hair leaning against a pile of wood. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad if Phil Lester looked like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...   
> Mark --> Luigi  
> Sean --> Guido  
> Louise --> Flo  
> Dan's Dad --> Harv
> 
> Kudos and Comments are appreciated. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't expect a new chapter tomorrow if you're following along on this random journey.

“Finally. I’ve been waiting for you all morning.” The man Dan assumed to be Phil said. “Right, well tools are in the shed over there, wood and barbed wires here. You know where the broken fence is obviously. Any questions?”

Dan was too focused on the cyan eyes with the flecks of gold staring him down to actually listen to the words coming out of the beautiful man’s mouth. Dan was suddenly drawn out of thoughts by some fingers snapping in front of his face.

“You got that city slicker?” Phil asked again

“Um…. Yeah got it.” Dan murmured.

“Whatever.” Phil huffed turning to walk into the house behind him. “Don’t wake me up, I’ll come check up on you later.” 

“Well then, best of luck, I’ll be back at sundown to get you I guess, unless Phil calls me earlier or something. Later gater!” Chris sniggered getting back in his truck “later gater, that’s a funny phrase.” And drove off leaving Dan next to the pile of wood and barbed wire.

Dan was then left alone on the property unsure of where to start. All he knew was that he was to fix a fence that he broke last night. So logic would dictate that the fence would be on the edge of the property. Even though it was dark Dan doesn’t remember leaving the main road when he was running last night. So Dan started walking around the property. 

After half an hour he found what he assumed to be the spot he damaged yesterday. It was next to the main road, a couple posts were knocked down and some slats broken. Dan was amazed he wasn’t more banged up to be honest. Looking at that mess he would have thought the barbed wire that toped the fence would have at least scratched him up a bit. 

Now that he found the broken fence in question, Dan had to get the wood and the wire over here. Now Dan was fit, you’d have to be if you were an Olympic racer, but by no means was he muscular or at all qualified to pick up heavy things. Figuring the wood would be heavier and take the longest Dan started with that, saving the lighter wire as almost a treat for his poor muscles later. After 40 minutes of dragging the wood to the fence and another 20 dragging his ass back to get the wire, he was exhausted. Apparently his body was built only for running and video games. 

When he approached the house he saw the black haired figure of fill standing on the Veranda, a glass in his hand. 

“You know you could have used the dolly to move the wood?” Phil said with a smirk sipping whatever was in his glass. “Lemonade?” he asked holding out another glass for Dan.

“Thanks.” Dan said, blushing as their fingers met for a moment.

“You woke me up with all that racket.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll try to keep it down.”

“It’s fine. I’m a light sleeper.”

“oh, okay” Dan quickly finished his lemonade and shuffled the glass in his hands, not sure what to do with it.

“You better get back to it, eh slicker?” Phil said extending his hand out the take the glass from Dan. 

“Yeah, right, I’ll, uh, get to it then.” Dan said quietly reaching down to pick up the barbed wire.

“STOP!” Phil yelled suddenly. “Were you seriously about to pick up barbed wire without any sort of gloves? You don’t even have long sleeves on!”

“Oh, well, yeah I guess that was kind of foolish.” 

“Kind of?” scoffed Phil “Go get the gloves in the tool shed, I’ll get you an old sweater to borrow.”

Dan ran into the shed to look for some gloves. He had no idea where to start. There were tools to the left, boxes to the right, and a lawn mower in front of him. He quickly scans the tools but sees nothing but metal and wood surfaces in the dim light of the shed. He then saw some fabric stick out of and in between the boxes so he went to look over there. He pulled on a piece of fabric that looked almost blue and purple in the dim light. When he pulled on it something grey and heavy came swinging at him. He caught the metal circle before it could hit his knee. Turning it over in his hand h could read that the heavy grey circle said “ Los Angles 1984”. Could it be?

“Hey Slicker! You aren’t supposed to be looking through my uncle’s junk. The gloves are over here. Take this sweater and get back to work!” Phil yelled slightly agitated. 

“Oh Sorry! Yes, yes, I’ll get back to work.” Dan said shoving what appeared to be a medal back on the shelf. “I’ll get back to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chris says Later gater- you know like "later mater". Also Phil calls Dan Slicker because it kind of sounds like Stickers.


End file.
